Metal, Hardcore, Indie, Rock
In an unsurprising turn of events, the company behind The Ultimate Rockfest, a festival in the Swedish city of Karlskrona, has filed for bankruptcy at the Solna District Court, with debts of just over SEK 1.2 million (~ € 113.000,00) owed to ticket holders, bands and legal representatives.
This news follows a series of media reports about The Ultimate Rockfest since October 2025. Discontent among festival visitors began to spread just two weeks before the 2025 edition at the Brinova Arena on 11 October 2025, when the 2026 edition – featuring Crucified Barbara, amongst other bands – was announced, even though attendees were still waiting for the 2025 festival schedule to be published. Shortly afterwards, the organisers of The Ultimate Rockfest 2025 announced that both Nestor, the co-headliner, and Dark Funeral “themselves have chosen to cancel their participation via their booking agent”, citing the organisers’ inability to “meet the agreed payment terms with certain bands on time” as “ticket sales this year have not reached the level required”. Both Nestor and Dark Funeral issued statements, clarifying that they did not drop out but were simply removed “without any explanation”, while The Ultimate Rockfest pointed out that ticket holders were “not entitled to refunds for minor changes”.
Two days before the scheduled date, the festival – along with its 2026 edition – was completely cancelled “due to a serious and concrete threat directed at the organiser”. Disagreements also arose here, with The Ultimate Rockfest saying that they were forced to make the decision to cancel the festival “after consulting with the police”, while the police denied this. The Ultimate Rockfest later clarified that the decision to cancel the festival was made by themselves, and not by the police. Just a few days later, the police closed the investigation into the death threat, as they were unable to determine who wrote or left the note in question. There is no camera surveillance at the scene and no other information to continue the investigation. The report can be reopened if additional information, such as from witnesses, comes to light that could affect the investigation.
However, that was not the end of the headlines. In December 2025, Johan Rönn, a ticket holder, told Sweden’s national public broadcaster SVT that he had received a refund but was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement, agreeing not to discuss the festival, the organiser or the agreement in the media or on social media – which he did not sign. The Ultimate Rockfest also demanded that he remove previous negative comments from social media.
According to SVT, the company behind The Ultimate Rockfest, Rockin Over The Borders, has no assets but debts of just over SEK 1.2 million, most of it stemming from unpaid fees to artists and to the sound and lighting contractor. Even their former lawyer, Henrik Månsson, is now a creditor in the bankruptcy estate, as he has not been paid.
